Treatment of pathological affections



Patented May 4, 193:7

PATENT t me TREATMENT OF PATHOLOGICAL AFFECTIONS Ralph E. Hall, Mount Lebanon, Pa., assignor to Hall Laboratories, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa... a corporation of Pennsylvania.

- No Drawing. Application August 18, 1933,

. Serial No. 685,?50

- Claims. -(ci. ice-c2) The present invention relates to the treatment of pathological affections, and more especially to the treatment of such affections as sunburn,

burns and scalds, ivy poisoning, eczema, dandrufi,

5 mange, and the like.

, According-to my invention, such pathological skin aifections are treated by thoroughly bath- .ing or scrubbing them with a weak solution of an alkali-metal metaphosphate, preferably sodium metaphosphate. I preferably use about a 1% solution by'weight of the variety of sodium metaphosphate known as Grahams salt" (Textbookof Inorganic Chemistry, edited by J. Newton Friend, vol. 6, part 1, page 177, by J. B. R. Prideaux, Philadelphia, 1934; Gmelin, Handbuch der Anorganischen Chemie, vol. 21, page 922, 8th edition, Berlin, 1928); or Grahams metaphosphate (A Dictionary'of Chemistry, by-Henry Watts, -vol. 4, page '578, New York, 1873; A Treatise on Chemistry, by Roscoe 8: Schorlemmer, vol. 2, part 1, page 283, New York, 1923). Grahams salt may be produced 'by strongly heating monosodium dihydrogen orthophosphate (NaHzPoi) until water is given oil. and the orthophosphate is converted into the sodium metaphosphate NaPOa. The heating 'iscarried out until the mass becomes fused, after which it isquickly'c'ooled as by pouring it in thin layers over cold metal surfaces, resulting in a solid material of an amorphous glass-like appearance. This material is readily soluble in water. 'Thesodium line buffering salt.

'metaphosphate gives a somewhat acid solution of a pH value of about 6. For the application to the skin the pH value of the solution is preferably adjusted for slight alkalinity by the addition of sodium carbonate or sodium carbonate with a.

small amount of sodium bicarbonate, or by the addition of sodium pyrophosphate or other alkaadjusted to have a pH value of about 8- to 8.5,

, which is mildly alkaline.

o Cases of eczema have In the treatment of sunburn, for example, the sunburned skin is thoroughly washed with-this solution. Actual treatments have shown that the pain is almost instantly alleviated, the redness reduced, and the blistering and peeling prevented.

The treatment has a similar effect upon ordinary yielded to treatment The solution is preferably and in a number of instances the eczema condition has entirely disappeared.

In the treatment of dandruii, the scalp should be 'washed regularly, say, every few days, with the solution of sodium metaphosphate, preferably as a rinse for the hair after bathing. The metaphosphate solution not only thoroughly removes the scurf skin characteristic of vdandruii, but efiectiv'ely prevents the continuance of the dandruff condition.

The treatment is also emcaclous inalleviating skinaffections of animals, such, for example, as mange in clogs. Tests have shown a number of instances where mange has completely disappeared after several washings with the sodium metaphosphate solution.

Whileat the present time the treatment with the metaphosphate solution has been carried out for the pathological skin afiections mentioned above, the treatment is applicable to other pathological skin aflections, particularly skin irrita demonstrated the beneficial effect in the alleviation and cure of the above-mentioned pathological skin afiections. Some of the pathological skin afiections, such as ivy poisoning and some forms of eczema, are probably caused by outside poisonous bodies introduced into the skin; The

, pain and redness from sunburn and other burns and scalds is apparently caused by the producis clogged with waste tion within the skin itself of certain toxins due 1 to' the breaking down of some of the skintissue. In the case of dandruil the skin is probably clogged with waste matter.

As a possible explanation, I may statethatthe sodium-metaphosphate molecule is a chemically active molecule. The molecular formula is probably N aa(Na4PeOia) This molecule combines with calcium andmany of the other metals to form a molecule probably having the composition Naa(XnPcO1a) in which the metal X is in an extremely slightly ionizable condition. The effect of the sodium metaphosphate is therefore to very actively combine with certain substances, such as calcium, and sequester them in a complex molecule and in an exceedingly slightly ionized condition. The complex molecule, however, is soluble.

The efiect of washing with the sodium metaphosphate solution in the case of dandruif treatment, particularly after washing thehair in the usual way, is, among other things, to thoroughly cleanse the scalp from the lime and magnesium soaps resulting from ordinary hair washing and which would otherwise tend to clogthe scalp. It is probable that the a'udium-e-metaphosphate molecule has a similar effect incombining with and rendering inert the irritating toxins which are present in ivy poisoning, eczema, burns. etc. At any rate, its action appears to be the rendering inert or possible removal of the irritating poisons which cause the redness and pain in sunburn and other burns and ivy poisoning.

I have also found that the sodium'metaphosphate has a strong detergent eflect, particularly upon the waxes and greases, in a neutral or but slightly alkaline solution, as contrasted with the detergent eil'ects secured by the use of harsh alkalies, I believe that the sodium metaphosphate removes from the skin the waste sebaceous material, and other things which may clog the pores, and possibly may remove from the skin the toxins as well.

While I prefer to use the slightly alkaline solution of Graham's salts, solutions of other water soluble alkali-metal metaphosphates'may be used, such as those of the other alkali-metala'potassium, lithium, etc.

The term "aqueous solution" in the claims means a solution containing water and is not necessarily limited to a solution containing only,

water and the solute.

While I have specifically described my invention with particular reference to the best procedures now known to me, it is to be understood that the invention is not so limited but may be otherwise embodied and practiced within the scope of the following claims.

I claim: 7

1. As a remedy for treating pathological skin affections, a weak aqueous solution of an alkalimetal metaphosphate.

2. As a remedy for treating pathological skin affections, a weak aqueous slightly alkaline solution of an alkali-metal metaphosphate.

3. A remedy for treating pathological skin affactions, containing a weak aqueous solution of an alkali-metal metaphosphate as an essential ingredient.

4. As a remedy for treating pathological skin affections, a weak aqueous solution of Graham's salt.

5. As a remedy for treating pathological skin afl'ections, "a weak aqueous slightly alkaline solution of Graham's salt. I 

